Attention-attracting novelty items, some of which also have some utility, have achieved a considerable degree of commercial success over the last several decades in the United States as well as many foreign countries. Such novelty, or semi-novelty and utility items frequently take the form of pictorial T-shirts, pennants, flags, badges and banners. Many of these items such as flags and pennants have rigid masts originally constructed of wood that are not only subject to breakage, but also require a rather large shipping container for transport. Moreover, because of the mast length and the relatively low cost of the product, the flag assembly cannot be economically packaged in individual containers and retailers hesitate to purchase any product that is shipped in bulk form and not individually containerized for sale to the consuming public.
Another problem with masted semi-novelty products is that because most retailers will not handle such bulk packaged products, there is no readily definable channel of trade, and as a result they have had only limited sales success. Their size also precludes them from many channels of trade handling other novelty items such as coin-operated vending machines.
It is a primary object of the present invention to ameliorate the problems noted above in semi-novelty masted products.